Passion Spice
by Peachss
Summary: A small mistake lands Ranma in one big, sticky situation.
1. Chapter 1

_-**It belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. That lucky son-of-a-gun.**_

**Passion Spice**

_It's not often my spices are tampered with. I am sure I locked the cabi__nets this morning before I opened the Nekohanten, and even still, Mousse and Shampoo have no way of getting inside to reach the spices. On the other hand, Shampoo has more access to the keys and is much more capable of picking the lock... or breaking the doors open. Mousse does not have the desire to use the spices, where as Shampoo has more of a motive in order to receive the attention of Son-in-law._ The old woman sat atop her pogo staff and stared idly at the busted doors to her magic spices cabinet. Mousse was busy attending the customers of the Nekohanten while Shampoo had been out with a delivery. Although the girl had been gone for a substantial amount of time, it was nothing out of the ordinary. She usually would stop if she saw Ranma, or even any of his other fiance's to boast about her status as his one and only true suitor. But today she had become worried of her great-granddaughter.

Usually Cologne set the task of opening the shop for lunch up to Mousse, but he had informed her that Shampoo set to the task long before he could. This caused a slight disturbance with Cologne because Shampoo never liked opening the shop, and when she -was- given the task of doing so, she usually pawned it off on Mousse, who was more than happy to make her smile (even if it was practiced and a bit stale). Not only that, but Shampoo had made four bowls of ramen and had taken them to son-in-law, who would likely eat two bowls of the stuff before Shampoo, herself, and Mousse could each eat one by themselves. Mousse said Shampoo would be taking 'that damned Saotome' the two bowls of ramen, while the other two were for her and the 'violent girl'. Cologne could now assess what was going on. Shampoo never took Akane or herself orders of ramen unless she wanted to gain the trust of Akane by eating a bowl of ramen herself in order to show the soups were not poisoned or spiked with some type of spice. Which brought her back to the point at hand.  
"Mousse! Bring the inventory slip and see which one of my spices is missing." Mousse growled low in his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose with his middle finger while looking over the inventory slip. His eye sight was bad, but he was more than familiar with the bottles and their respective place on the list.

"Granny, nothing seems to be missing." He set the last bottle in its appropriate place in the small cupboard, then shrugged as he stood, handing her the inventory slip. This information both confused and startled Cologne. _She must have known I would have checked the inventory slip... She knows from the last time I scolded her for her errors. _It was then that Mousse gave a thoughtful grunt that caught her attention. "Nani, bozu?" She asked, her form bouncing over to his on her staff.

"It seems the passion spice has been filled with dirt. The smell is not the same as it usually is, and the color is off, if even by a mere shade." Cologne scrutinized the small glass container and found herself nodding in agreement with the almost blind-but nevertheless observant boy.

_So it seems you have come to that, great-granddaughter?_

"Aiya! Shampoo bring ramen to Ranma! You eat, yes?" Akane stood in the doorway of her house, shaking her head profusely at the purple-haired amazon woman.

"No way, Shampoo!. There's no way I'm gonna let you inside my house!"  
"But Shampoo make special deluxe ramen for Airen! Violent-girl Akane, you no get in way of Shampoo." At this, Akane growled, ready to pull out her mallet on the other woman.

"Or..." Shampoo gave a sing-song voice with her sudden change of heart, "Violent-girl eat with Airen and Shampoo. Is okay?" Akane thought this over, not sure whether to trust the girl or not, but then decided that if Shampoo and her ate with Ranma, that there was probably nothing to really worry about. Kasumi -had- gone out to go grocery shopping, but would be stopping by Dr. Tofu's on her way home to return a book she borrowed. That would probably take a while seeing as she would probably get him to calm down and would most likely clean up his mess. And if things went the way they always did with them, she would stay and make him dinner and would not be home until either very late, or early the next morning.

The rest of the family had been out already. Nabiki was in the center of Tokyo checking out a couple of university campuses and had planned to spend the rest of the week there before heading home to make a decision. Both her father and Mr. Saotome had gone on a training trip into the mountains for two weeks near a hot spring. Happosai caught wind that the hot spring was also a local hot spot for most of the female population of Japan and had opted to hide away in his students' packs in order to hitch a ride to the place. He'd most likely stay up there to cause havoc until they came home, which would be in about a week or so. Basically, Akane would be alone with Ranma until Kasumi got home the next morning, and she hated the idea of letting him cook and rubbing it in her face.

"Fine, but don't even think about pulling anything funny!" The amazon girl only nodded, taking in her ramen carrier into the Tendou household. Unknown to Akane, the girl had put the remaining Passion spice she found in her great-grandmother's cabinet into one of the bowls of ramen she would be giving to Ranma. Only problem was, she had forgotten which bowls had beef spice and which of the four had passion spice. She made sure to give Ranma at least one regular bowl, in case he suspected something. He could eat two bowls by himself, anyway, and would make things more believable.

On the other hand, she had put a specific colored naruto in her soup, to make sure she got the right one. She was in such a hurry to leave before her great-grandmother found her, though, that she had not enough time to do so with the remaining bowls. It would be luck if Ranma got it, and terrible if Akane did. In her flurry to pack up and leave the Nekohanten, Shampoo had also forgotten the antidote for the spice. If something -did- occur that was undesirable for herself, then she'd have to run home and get it and hopefully avoid her great-grandmother.

Mousse would prove no problem for her either way, so she really didn't have to worry about him.

"Ah, smells great, Shampoo! Good thing you came over or I would have starved!" Shampoo practically flew across the dining room to glomp on her Airen after she set her carriers on the eating table. Ranma had intended the remark to just make Akane angry. She'd been exceptionally quiet ever since Kasumi left earlier that day and he needed to hear her yell in order to get back into his own groove. But his little plan backfired on him as Shampoo showered him in undesired kisses and provided him with a very cruel look from the woman he had initially wanted to ruffle the feathers of.

"Airen eat ramen Shampoo make! You love cooking means you love Shampoo!" Ranma gave a cheeky grin to Akane after Shampoo had let him go, now sitting on the long side of the table nearest the sliding door-which was closed. Akane took her seat on the opposite side, Ranma being pulled onto the floor next to Shampoo directly across from his first fiancé.

Akane was not impressed with Shampoo's display at all. First the girl barged into her home, uninvited, and was going to-yet again-try to steal away Ranma for herself. Although Akane had reservations about her feelings toward the baka, she was sure that she did NOT want him trouncing around with Amazon women or spatula wielding chef's. She certainly hated the idea of him with a crazed, leotard clad psycho who found it necessary to scream by almost every night about her love for the guy. Akane had-had enough with his other suitors and was this - close to pulling her hair out. But then again, she was very hungry and refused to let Ranma cook. She had secretly accepted the fact that she would never eat her own cooking and was not turned off to the idea of going to Uchan's or even the Nekohanten for lunch. It just so happened that the latter got to her first.

Now she sat with Shampoo at the table, a bowl in front of her, a bowl in front of Shampoo, and two bowls set in front of Ranma. "Ranma!" Akane let the last of his name drag out with a warning tone, letting him know that she was not pleased with the closeness and friendliness Shampoo had with him.

"Airen! You eat ramen now." Shampoo's voice cut over Akane's, trying to shut her up and get Ranma to take a bite. Hopefully he had the right bowl.

"Hey, wait, Shampoo..." The warning tone in Akane's voice never faded as the girl turned around and nodded to her. "I want you to start eating your bowl first, just to make sure." Shampoo gave a mock sigh, not sure if Akane bought it or not.  
"Violent-girl no trust Shampoo, but is alright. I eat and show Akane is good ramen." She picked up her chopsticks and took a hardy bite, chewed, swallowed, and then smiled triumphantly. Akane only watched her for a few minutes before finally deciding that the soup was safe to eat.

"We'll find out soon enough..." She murmured before taking a bite of the noodles with her chopsticks. "Mm... This really IS good, Shampoo." She took another bite and was astounded to say that the soup was not half bad. She had thought it would taste funny because of Cologne's strange spices she usually added to the soup.

"I tell you, Kitchen-wrecker, but you no trust Shampoo. You know now Shampoo is not bad." The purple-haired Amazon took another bite of her ramen while snuggling closer to Ranma, wanting him to eat his, "You eat now, Ranma. Here, Shampoo feed Airen before it get cold." She twirled her chopsticks in his ramen bowl and brought a twist full of noodles to his lips. Akane just gave a soft 'che' before finishing her own bowl.

Once she was finished, though, her head began to feel light and fuzzy. Her limbs turned to jell-o and her skin melted. She could feel her body slow down as if time was starting to stand still. Then she slumped, as if she was ready to fall asleep. It felt like this was taking place in slow minutes, as if she was carelessly floating away. In reality all of this took place within maybe four or five seconds, and after her small trip was finished, her senses again became crystal clear. _Nani? What happened to me? Oh yeah, I forgot where I was for a second._ Shampoo had not missed Akane's trip, either, and was now beginning to worry. She knew what would happen next if Akane had indeed eaten the Passion spice induced ramen and was surely worried that the girl had given Ranma the wrong bowl.

"Mm... Ranma...?" Akane watched him, her eyes burning into his skin as she imagined what it would feel like to have her skin against his. She gave a slight blush for a moment, scolding herself for thinking such things, but she soon found that she could not control herself! Her hand slid onto the table and slowly reached across to his, barely brushing against his before she sluggishly looked into his eyes. The small touch sent small waves of excitement through her finger tips and up her arm through her entire body. Again her mind pleaded with her body to stop all motor functions, but it did not comply and she proceeded to carry on with her actions. Ranma was left with a couple of noodles hanging from his lips. A soft slurp later and they were ever absent. He could feel the heated gaze Akane's orbs were burning into his own. _If I didn't know any better then I'd say that Akane was puttin' the moves on me!_

The hand on the table pulled back towards her body, but stayed on the table, grasping the edge as she pushed herself up. Her other hand was now placed further ahead on the table as she began to crawl onto the surface towards him. She kept her knees on the floor, her right hand reaching out to grasp the collar of his Chinese shirt to pull him up and to her, forcing him to hover over the table as she was. "Your skin is like fire..." She whispered to him, speaking so closely to his lips that hers brushed against his with every word. She was not kissing him, but merely wanting to feel the caress of his lips to hers.

"This no good..." Shampoo suddenly made her presence apparent once again, "Shampoo get antidote soon as possible. Airen-" she turned her attention from her bowl of ramen to Ranma, "Keep Kitchen-wrecker locked in closet. Shampoo go get antidote now." Ranma was too busy staring at Akane to really turn his attention to the Amazon. He was too entranced in the feeling of Akane's skin teasing his. But in the back of his mind he had registered that Shampoo admitted to sneaking something into the ramen and had accidentally given the bowl to the wrong person. That meant that Akane was acting on whatever the drug had struck in her.

"Yeah." He breathed absent mindedly toward the purple-haired girl. And with that she was running out of the house to jump across Nerima via roof tops until she arrived back at the Nekohanten.

The restaurant was not very busy and only had a couple of customers. Shampoo made her way through the backdoor, trying to be as stealthy and unseen as possible.

"My Beautiful Sham-UGH!" Mousse went smack into the floor of the kitchen with a face full of tile, his glasses cracked and smashed and his hair splayed out all around his shoulders and head. Shampoo had no intention of letting her Great-grandmother know she was back. If the old woman found out, then she would not allow her to leave. And that would leave Ranma back at the Tendou dojo alone with the hormone crazed girl.

"Aiya..." She rummaged through the spice cupboard, her slender fingers finally wrapping around a glass container. "Found antidote. Now I take to Airen so Violent-girl leave alone." She stood, triumphant and spun on her red flat heel to exit the Nekohanten.

"Shampoo, what is that you've got there." Shampoo froze at the creaky sound of her great-grandmother's voice. The older woman bounced over to the younger and snatched the antidote right out of Shampoo's delicate hand, "You know what happens when you break into my spice cupboard, Shampoo. Now you must pay me back for the Passion spice you've wasted and you must fix the cupboard and tend to the store." Shampoo opened her mouth to protest, "I cannot have you lolly gagging today, Shampoo. You have crossed me once already this morning, so do not evoke my wrath a second time." The young Amazon woman narrowed her eyes, "But Great-grandmother! Violent-girl eat spice and Shampoo need take antidote to Airen before Kitchen-wrecker too gone with lust!"

Cologne felt anger wash over her at her great-granddaughter's resistance. In an instant there was a splash of water and a sudden hissing sound. Shampoo arched her back, her eyes leering up at the old hag as she hissed. Her cat form was then thrown into a carrying basket along with a newly found duck and was tossed onto the top shelf in the kitchen. "Then I will merely keep you there. I can manage the store on my own for now before the rush. You can bring Son-in-law the antidote after we close up shop." Shampoo gave a defeated mew as she slouched in the cage with Mousse.

Back at the Tendou dojo, Akane had kept her right hand firmly grasped in the collar of Ranma's Chinese shirt. Her green sun dress was slowly being unbuttoned by her left hand, which had so far gotten seven buttons undone, showing her white lace bra underneath and the tops of her breasts to him. After the eighth button was undone, she returned her left hand to the table, helping to steady herself in the air. She again tugged him a little closer, this time her lips trailed a lazy kiss from his jaw to his ear on the left side of his face, "I want you, Ranma. Why don't you take me?" Her voice was a low whisper dripping with lust. She could feel the spot between her legs tingle in anticipation of his response. Even if he denied her pleasure, she would take him. He could reject her plea, but it didn't mean a thing to her. One way or another she would have him.

Ranma could feel the blush that washed over his cheeks and seemingly spread from the roots of his hair to down his neck. _This isn't Akane. This isn't Akane. This isn't Akane._ _She's so beautiful. This isn't Akane. I want to touch her. _Ranma reached a shaky right hand forward, "A-Akane..."

_-**What did you guys think of it? Give a review and tell me what you thought. All criticism is welcome and praise is more than appreciated.** _


	2. Chapter 2

-**_I don't own it. _**

**_Lime warning_**

****

"A-Akane..." A wavering hand floated in the small space between them. Ranma couldn't help the flutter of his heart that threatened to beat through his chest at any moment, but he was more fearful of where his hand was going than heart palpitations. As if she could read his mind, Akane bent her torso a funny way, letting her left breast brush against Ranma's hesitant finger tips. At this sudden contact Ranma jumped, his hand darting to her shoulder to try and gently push her away. Even if he did think she was attractive and he felt more than ready to fulfill her wishes of taking her, he knew this was not Akane speaking. This was not Akane moving or breathing the way she was, giving him looks the way she was, making those small whimper sounds the way she was... "Huh?"

His thoughts were suddenly invaded as a petite hand wrapped slender fingers around his wrist, her left hand now pulling at his arm instead of concentrating it on the table edge. She languidly pulled at his hand, his palm open as she brought the skin to her partially exposed breast. In unison their breaths hitched, Ranma gasping from the realization that he was now grasping her left breast, while Akane gasped from the feeling of being caressed so intimately. _I can feel everything so clearly, I don't feel drugged at all, yet I know I am... But still, I don't want to stop. It feels too good to stop now._ Akane smiled at the shyness of her fiancé, something inside of her forced out a small giggle that permeated the air that washed out between them as she finally closed the gap and whisked her lips to his. Her body was no longer kneeling on the floor like before, but was now sitting atop the table. The bowl she had eaten from had been mostly empty, so she could easily push it further to the edge with her shin before continuing on her journey to the man across from her.

Ranma, however, was still kneeling with one hand being taken by the girl on the table while the other held onto her right wrist that was connected to the hand with a fist full of his collar. She tasted of ramen, strawberries and something feminine. He opted to name this taste 'Akane' and blushed as he sensed her urgency within the kiss. His eyes, at first, had bolted open with shock, but soon melted to thinly lidded slits as he savored her. Everything moved lazily, but not clumsily. The way she was now tugging his Chinese shirt open, red material giving way beneath her fingers as she spread the two folds to reveal his chest. Their lips stayed sealed, only parting to gasp for a breath or to move a little this way or that. Ranma who, although gone without a trace in the field of euphoria, noted that his hands were being suspended behind his back by the Chinese shirt that Akane had pulled to his wrists and held there. Her own form had slid off the table onto his lap, straddling him as she maneuvered her way around his body. The green dress she wore was slowly, but surely, beginning to tangle in their laps, her breasts shoving the material away as they now pressed into Ranma's chest. The white lace was thin and soft and warm and Ranma could not get the shivers running up and down his spine to cease.

He could feel her hardened nipples from beneath the brassier she wore, teasing him as she rubbed her chest against his. Her lips kissed over his nose, agonizingly trailing kisses to his left jaw line until she reached his ear, latching onto it to nibble and play until she had-had enough. The aching between her legs called for something much more than this. Her senses where heightened and needed to be fulfilled before the burning took hold of her and blinded her. Everything was so sensitive. Her skin felt like it was dancing, her lungs where about ready to fly away, and her finger tips could not feel enough of him at any one time. "More..." She whispered into the crook of his neck, teeth nipping at the skin that was being turned pink from her ministrations. Her voice woke him up, startled him out of his dream-like world and sent him hurtling towards the Tendou dojo and into his body.

"Akane-No!" His hands tore out of the arm holes in his shirt, now grasping both of her wrists at his shoulders. "This isn't real, Akane." The way he was now panting would make things seem like he had just finished extensive training, breath after breath being heavier then the last as it took every ounce of will to hold the girl back. He couldn't remember a time he felt so frustrated. She was here, waiting for him-wanting him. Her words had practically demanded he take her, but it was all a symptom of whatever Shampoo had put into their ramen. _Where is she with that antidote? It wont be long until I can't even hold myself back._

"Please, Ranma. You know it will feel good. Just take me and make me feel good, too." Although he had a sturdy grip on her wrists, her knees were able to push her upwards to give her easy access to his ear again. Her breasts played right beneath his chin, her words tickling the hairs around his temple as she began to tell him that this was okay and that she truly wanted this. "I've always wanted you, Ranma. Couldn't you tell?" Her legs shifted, letting her rub against his crotch erotically, pulling a strangled whimper from his throat. _Couldn't you feel how much I loved you? Please don't reject me, Ranma. I can't bear to be rejected even in this state... I've always wanted to... to do this with..._ A sudden movement on her part caused both bodies to thump onto the floor, Ranma now on his back with Akane bracing over him, hands flat on the floor on either side of his head. "Ranma..." She bent forward, lips barely touching his.

"Akane." The name came out as a plea. A plea for what, even Ranma was not sure about. But a second after he wriggled it out, he crashed his lips to hers. His arms wrapped around her body, closing the small gap between them. Her breasts crushed against his chest, letting him feel the electricity sparking at the contact. He pushed away from the table and again sat up, his hands taking hold of her hips to hoist her onto the table, her legs over the edge. The V that her legs made was occupied once he slid his form between them, his hands working to unbutton the rest of her dress and slip it over her head and toss it over his shoulder. The lump of fabric hit the sliding door and was now laying on the floor without a care. This left Akane clad in a white lace bra and a pair of pastel yellow panties with a hot pink bow on the front waist band. Ranma still had his pants on, his shirt ruined from the earlier ripping in order to try and stop his fiancé. It proved to be a pointless action, however, since his current actions were doing exactly what he was trying to stop her from doing.

He pulled her hips towards his, causing friction between them as the evident bugle in his pants pressed sweetly against her damp panties. "You're going to soak through my pants..." His voice murmured out as if letting himself know she was wet for him. His right hand slid between them, the back of it rubbing against her clothed pussy until she began letting out whimpers of protest for more. The hand flipped over and he was soon pinching the small bud he found through the fabric of her soaked panties, eliciting moan after moan.

Akane found herself jolting from the immense pleasure wracking her body at the moment. She couldn't stop her lips from parting to let out a flood of moans. Her hands had found refuge on his shoulders, gripping them as if she would be blown away. In a way she felt like that could possibly happen. Her legs contracted around him, not wrapping around him, but merely flexing from his touches. The feeling of his breath along her neck sent small shudders through her body that made her feel like she was tingling all over. He latched onto the juncture of her neck, softly suckling, biting and licking over the small red marks he made. This caused Akane let out a rather raw moan that filled the entire room and Ranma was sure that the other rooms in the house felt lonely and empty.

"Louder." He softly demanded, his fingers peeling the material of her panties over in order to directly touch her. The feeling of his skin against her most private place made her squirm in his hands, his left hand dragging up her stomach to tickle the skin until he met her right breast, capturing it and gently squeezing. She fit perfectly in his hand, not too small, not large like his female form, but perfect. "Louder..." He again demanded, this time a bit more sternly than before. A first digit was entered into her wet folds, then a second. He spread his fingers, loosening her opening. Akane let out a moan that shook her frame, her eyes clamped shut as pleasure washed over her body. His fingers curled, touching a nerve within her, "Ooh, yes. That-do that again." And he complied.

His thumb pressed the button at the top of her sex, his two digits curling within her and finding that bundle of nerves she had asked him to hit again. "Yes! Ranma, iku, iku!" Her nails dug into the flesh at his shoulders, presenting him with small crescent moons that marked him. The sticky liquid that now washed over his fingers smelled sweet and musky and he couldn't help the smile that played at his lips. Akane now slumped against him, her head cradled on his shoulder as she pant. Her hands sluggishly rested on his arms, her eyes closed as she listened to the silence filled with contentment.

"Thank you, Ranma." It was so soft that the boy barely noticed it. No words could express how he felt at that moment. Her thanks for him, giving her body to him and pleading for him to take her were all so much for him to process. A part of him was aghast at the thought of taking advantage of her this way. She had been drugged and he had done things to her that she would normally hit him over the head for and scream 'hentai' at him for. But she had thanked him and said she wanted him to make her feel good. _But she was under the influence of one of the Old Bag's potions. This wasn't right. What have I done?_ His features turned from that of bliss to that of self hatred. He had potentially hurt the one he felt most for and about. How could he have been so stupid as to let a little pressure break his self control?! His arms wrapped around and under her legs, now carrying her form up to her room to lay in her bed until she was able to come out of the drugged state._ When she wakes up out of this, I'll tell her everything. Unless she remembers, then she'll probably just hate me. Akane..._ He covered her body with her blanket, her brown eyes staring at him, "Ranma?"

"Just get some sleep, okay?" He turned from her and walked to the door, closing it quietly behind him. Just then he heard the front door open and close, footsteps walked into the house and he could hear someone open the door to the dining table room. _Those steps are too heavy to be Kasumi's or Nabiki's. But they're not as heavy as Pop's or Mr. Tendou's. Shampoo would have said something by now..._ He pressed into the woodwork, keeping his steps silent as he melted through the house. When he arrived at the dining area, he blinked. "Mousse? It's just you?" The man in question turned, his index finger moving his glasses further up his nose as his eyesight adjusted to Ranma's form.

"Ah, Saotome." He seemed to be assessing Ranma's state. The boy was absent a shirt, had pink marks covering his neck and shoulders and look disheveled-like he had either gotten into a bit of a tif or had just woken from a bad dream. "I came to bring you the antidote for the Passion spice which my Darling Shampoo put into your ramen, but..." He trailed off and Ranma nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. Just name your price." He could feel Mousse's eyes scanning his body, making him blush lightly.

"Well, Saotome, Shampoo said Akane had eaten the bowl of ramen that she put the spice in, but you see..." He stood out of Ranma's line of sight so he could see the four bowls of ramen on the table. Shampoo's had been barely touched while Akane's was all gone besides some of the broth. One of his bowls was missing a few bites, while the other was turning a dark brown color.

"Huh?" He took a few steps forward, now looming over the bowl next to the blind-boy. "What's that?!"

"That's the Passion spice. The spice cannot get cold or else it starts to change color and go ineffective. That's why we always put it in something hot, like Ramen or warm sauce or hot tea." He shrugged, as if this information was just so obvious, "I thought Akane had eaten the drugged bowl of ramen, but no other bowls have this effect, so I'm guessing no one ate the bowl." Ranma gulped, knowing that he had-had the bowl all that time. _Wow, what a close call. Good thing I didn't eat it._ "What Shampoo must've thought was a reaction from the Passion spice must've been the reaction to the energy shot we put in our ramen today." Ranma blinked a couple of times and looked up at the guy next to him quizzically.

"Say what?" Mousse let out a frustrated sigh and held a pointer finger to the bridge of his nose.

"You see, Saotome, every day the Nekohanten has a special deluxe ramen we serve as the days special. Instead of having different flavors, Granny decided to put boosters in the soup, such as energy, health, different vitamins, that sort of thing." Ranma could not believe what he was hearing. "Shampoo explained to Granny that she had only put the spice into one bowl, but that Akane had eaten it instead of you." He gave a low growl at the thought of his Shampoo trying to get cosey with the damned Saotome, "But the bowl that has the spice in it hasn't even been touched." He picked it up and pointed, then began putting the bowls back into Shampoo's carriers she had left in her rush to get back to the shop for the antidote. "You don't even need this." He put a clear vile back into his sleeves, "No one ate the Passion spice."

_No one... ate it? Akane wasn't under the influence of the..._

_-**I know a lot of you were upset about this plot being overused a such, but I knew that and had decided to add my own twist to things. I hope you liked it, and please review again. I really do appreciate all of your comments. And yes, this is my first fic ever, so you guys are really helping me to progress not to mention motivate me. **_


	3. Chapter 3

_**-I wish I owned it...**_

It didn't take a rocket scientist to add two and two together to get four, but Ranma was sure that even this situation would baffle the greatest of geniuses. After all, what he had thought was a reaction to the Passion Spice was merely a reaction to an energy booster. Ranma lay in his covers in the guest bedroom, soft blue haze drifted in through the window since it was very early morning. The sun had not yet risen, but the sky was bright and making preparations for the sun to be held in its presence. As his eyes scanned the ceiling-which had become a close friend to him over the years whenever he had a problem to mull over-he recalled the past evenings events when Mousse had come over.

"_So... you mean all she ate was an energy potion?" Ranma couldn't keep his voice restrained and ended up sounding like a boy who had been smacked for stealing a cookie. The high tone let Mousse know exactly what had gone on once Shampoo left the place._

"_It's not a potion, Saotome." Couldn't he get it right?_ _"It's called an energy booster. All it is-is a vitamin." Wasn't it illegal to put unorthodox potions in regular civilian food items?_

"_Well... She's not gonna remember anything... Right?" His voice was hopeful, almost pleading for the answer he so desired._

"_Yes. Vitamins are not like potions, Saotome. She'll remember everything since it did not interfere with her body in any alien way."_

His eyes twitched as a ray of sun peeked into his room. _So she'll remember everything that happened and... Geez, why did this have to happen to me?_ As he rolled onto his side to face the door instead of the sunlight, he noticed something very off. Instead of an empty spot next to him where his absent father usually slept was the sitting form of a very red faced Akane. Whether the redness in her cheeks was from anger or embarrassment was a total mystery to him, but he had no doubt that the reason could be from both.

"O-Ohayo, Akane..." The girl sat straight up as if she was hearing the most terrible news of her life. Her eyes glazed over, her nose turned a small shade of pink and her pout lips pursed together before a small whine tangled in her throat.

"RANMA!"

A few hours later and a lot of ice packs found Ranma sitting across the eating table from a fuming Akane. After she beat him through the roof and into the yard she calmed down enough to actually listen to his story. She explained the adrenaline rush she had after eating and persisted that she had eaten the spice, but Ranma was adamant about Mousse's input at how the spice was in the bowl no one had eaten. He even told her about the color change! Now, though, both teens were silent and unmoving.

Kasumi had come back home sometime during the night and had made breakfast for the three of them earlier in the day. Now she was washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen and tidying up the mess Akane made when she sumo'd Ranma through the walls.

"So you mean... It was a vitamin and... What happened was real and not a dream and my own free will?" Akane asked in a small and shaky voice. The two had moved to the dojo, sitting inside the empty room facing each other. Or rather, Ranma was looking off to the side while Akane bore down onto the wooden floor before her bent knees.

"Yes. That's right." His voice was low, sunken, maybe even ashamed.

This bothered Akane. Maybe she had forced him? She knew she had. What had happened the night before was because she had cornered him and pushed him and pressured him and-Oh God, she had done the unthinkable. At first she had felt a little violated and betrayed, assuming the passion spice was behind all this, but now she knew better. _Oh God... What have I done? I know I love him, but... I would have rather done everything knowing I wasn't under the influence of some potion. Vitamin, I mean. Oh whatever!_

"Akane? You okay?" Deep blue eyes scanned the furrowed brow of the girl in front of him. Her brown pools were quaking in their sockets and she felt as though she would burst into tears at any second. The air around them was beginning to grow and fester into something much more than silence. Each on of them felt that if they broke the silence that the brittle atmosphere surrounding them would swallow them whole and consume their bodies like a starved lion. It didn't actually sound so bad...

"I love you, Ranma."

...

At the Nekohanten, things were going smoothly. That was, until Shampoo inquired about the visit Mousse paid to the Saotome residence. All Hell was breaking loose.

"You mean violent-girl no eat potion?!" The high pitched voice was rattling the glasses right off the amazon boy. The close proximity of her... chin... was fogging the thick lenses and forcing the lump in his throat to get bigger and bigger until finally, "Mousse!"

"O-oh, sorry Shampoo! I-I was just distracte-"

"No time for that now, Mousse! Tell what Akane eat. If she no eat ramen with passion spice, then who?" Mousse gulped, straightening out his coat as Shampoo let it go and stood back.

_Now, I have to word this carefully. If I slip up, then Shampoo will definitely know for sure what really happened._ He cleared his throat and looked to her, the light from above their heads casting a white glow upon his specs, making the effect a bit too dramatic for Shampoo's taste.

"Ranma had the bowl, Shampoo, but he hadn't eaten it yet."

Purple buns fell as the lump of skin did before it. The amazonian woman sat on the tiled kitchen floor of the Nekohanten as this news had sunk in. _Airen no eat ramen with spice. Shampoo so close. Violent-girl no eat ramen, either, and Shampoo leave them alone! _Her resolve hardened as she continued to think the matter over, a curious Mousse standing above her with a glint of worry. He could only pray in secret that she wasn't planning to go through another passion spice mission. He wouldn't stop her, of course, since he neither had the strength nor the will-power.

"Stop lolly gagging! We have customers you know!" The croaked voice startled both Mousse and Shampoo from their individual contemplations. "Neither of you are allowed to leave this shop until the lunch rush has been and gone."

This did not sit well with Shampoo. She wanted to run over to the Tendou residency and tear the place apart. It was just too much of a coincidence that Akane had NOT eaten the Passion Spice. The reaction she had, to her, had been one of the Passion Spice influence.

Of course, Shampoo would never admit defeat, even if the things Akane had done had been of her own free will. Mousse, however, was perfectly fine with staying in the shop with Shampoo. _She doesn't need to be chasing that Saotome around all the time. What does he have that I don't!_ He picked up two bowls and carefully walked out to a table, serving the ramen to the incorrect customers. Cologne quickly slapped him over the head with a broom and dust pan and instructed him to clean the place for the dinner rush. Shampoo was in charge of serving customers until then, but Mousse was happy to just be around her. _If things work out, I won't have to worry about that stupid Saotome anymore..._

Somewhere back at the Tendou Dojo, the eldest Tendou daughter was patching up holes in the roof. She hardly ever did real labor around the place, but since almost the entire family was out poor Kasumi was forced to pick up the extra slack. Ranma was laying down in the living room with a large ice pack over his face and head while Akane was bluntly absent.

_I can't believe that jerk... I was so stupid to tell him that. "I love you, Ranma." _Brown orbs clutched shut as hot tears rolled down her ivory cheeks. Akane sat behind the dojo, the shade of the building and trees surrounding keeping her hidden and out of plain sight. She had changed into her gi to train, to work off steam, but for some reason her concentration was off. _Why did this have to happen?_ She felt a number of emotions. Guilt, shame, betrayal-these emotions came before the others, seeing as how she felt a damn fool for confessing her love and pushing Ranma into... _Oh God..._ The other emotions, subtle and hushed, lay deep within her soul-happiness, relief, thankfulness. These emotions were due to the fact that she had finally come out with it, finally told Ranma the truth. She'd shared a moment with him that she was certain (or almost certain) that he had not shared with any of his other fiance's. _How can I ever look at him again?_ A flash of her memory replayed the events of the evening before, triggering the blood in her body to rush to her face. If anything, Akane thought she'd be able to pull off after-effects of the Passion Spice. _Oh..._ "I can't."

"Shampoo go see Airen, yes?" Purple ran across the shop, black buffering tables and white bouncing around to check the cleaning job, "I must see Ranma. Kitchen-wrecker ruin my plan, so Shampoo go fix things!"

Cologne hopped over to the table Mousse had wiped a second before he turned to clean another. Her bony finger ran across it and rubbed together against her thumb. "Hm, buffer the tables again, boy. Don't get lazy just because the day is halfway through." The blind boy grunt before grudgingly walking back to the first table to start over.

"Great Grandmother?" The sound of Shampoo's voice had been playing in the back of the old hag's mind, running in and out of her head like a stray summer wind.

"Shampoo," The girl perked up, hopeful, "I permit you to go. On one condition." Shampoo waited, her lungs holding the last breath she took in, "Empty your folds."

Mousse could feel Shampoo pale, knowing she had her own bottle of Passion Spice that she kept in emergencies such as this-when the regular spices were out of her reach. He knew that If Cologne was given the bottle, she'd be less than furious. In fact, she'd probably let Shampoo take it. Shampoo didn't know this, assuming her great grandmother would confiscate it. If anything, Cologne _wanted_ Shampoo to seduce Ranma into marrying her. But she wanted to teach Shampoo that stealing from her would bring a worse fate than she could imagine. _C'mon Great Granny! Take the bottle away from my Darling Shampoo so she can't use it._

"Yes, Great Grandmother..." Delicate fingers reached into the bust line of her short dress and pulled out a small vile of Passion Spice. "Here. Shampoo's last bottle."

Cologne flipped it between her tiny hands and tossed it back at the younger Amazonian woman, "Keep it." Mousse felt his stomach drop, once again, "But you cannot take any ramen with you." Shampoo nodded, a bit angrily, and walked out of the Nekohanten.

Mousse watched her go, or at least watched her shadow go as she buffered a center table. Cologne pogo'ed over and smacked the back of his head, "Get back to work."

_Why didn't she take it away?!_

All three bodies sat in the living room, the fan whirring on high, cooling them down from the afternoon heat. Ranma now sat up, leaning against the table as he ate his lunch, which consisted of chicken teriyaki and rice. Akane pushed her food around and refused to look up from it while Kasumi blinked happily, chopsticks perched between her lips. Even though the television was on one of their favorite programs, no one seemed interested. Now, as bird-brained as Kasumi was, and she was first to admit it, she was not oblivious enough to miss what had happened earlier that day. The walls didn't have ears-although Nabiki could probably fix that problem... But Kasumi had 'Mother-ears'. The ones that heard whispering up the stairs and down the hall even when she was far off in the kitchen. She had basically gathered what had happened the previous day, and like a good, clean woman had wiped the table until it was about to break. Kasumi had replaced Ranma's ice-pack twice and had convinced Akane to eat after much persuasion.

"Oh!" The doorbell rang three times, the trio at the table freezing, "I'll get that." Kasumi's sweet voice floated up and out of the room as she said her usual 'I wonder who that could be'.

Ranma let his eyes wander across the table to Akane's form, and surprisingly enough, she was looking right back. "A-Akane.. I just want you know... That... I-"

"AIREN!"

"'Lo Shampoo-OOH!" A mass of boobs and hair burst into the room, latching onto the boy, his ice pack flopping onto the table. Kasumi walked in a few seconds after, smiling,

"Shampoo will be joining us for lunch today! I'll get out another plate." She busied herself with grabbing an extra plate and sticks and served the Amazon.

"Thank you for delicious food." Shampoo thanked before giving Akane a glare, "Must not run in family."

It took everything Akane had to not stand up and dump the food all over the buxom Amazon woman. Akane just could not stand Shampoo. Out of all of Ranma's suitors, Shampoo was the most dastardly. She would swindle and trick and lie and _weasel_ her way around. The other finances, like Ukyo and Kodachi, were not as sneaky. Ukyo would be up-front and Kodachi could be heard a mile away...

"At least I don't overeat." Ranma was in the middle of taking a bite of his food when Akane said this. The sticks in his fingers hovered in front of his mouth as the chicken and rice combo sat safely within it, "By the way, Shampoo." She continued, the purple haired girl blinking up as she chewed her own food, "Did you gain weight?"

The entire table erupted. Ranma spat out his food, rice grains and chewed up chicken splattered all over his plate and the table space around it while Shampoo coughed and gagged as she choked on her mouthful.

Kasumi, not the most observant of women, added, "Perhaps you should not eat so much ramen?" As if she was speaking about the weather.

"You!" Shampoo coughed, her eyes watering from the pain her throat felt, "You fat one, Violent-girl! Ranma no love you 'cause you can't cook, clean and you fat!"

Akane felt her blood boil, "Oh yeah?! Well I bet you've never kissed Ranma like I have, have you?!"

The table, unlike before, fell silent. Shampoo was in shock, Kasumi was blushing madly and Ranma was gaping like a dying fish. The shock didn't take long to evaporate from Shampoo's heated ego, though. The girl went from shocked to hurt to angry in about two seconds. It didn't even take one second for her to break the table in half and charge the youngest Tendou daughter. On the other spectrum, Akane was fast. She dodged the mass of flesh hurtling towards her by a hair and was rolling out of the way before she was torn apart. Kasumi had jumped away and was leaning against the wall behind herself. The eldest Tendou daughter was more concerned about the table being broken and the mess made than Akane-until she realized just what was happening, "Oh no!"

Akane had run out of the dining room and out to the hallway leading to the dojo. She made it there about one moment before Shampoo burst through the ajar door.

"I kill Akane! You no disrespect Shampoo that way!" Akane stood on the opposite side of the dojo panting as Shampoo stared daggers right through her body.

Ranma ran in, skidding to a halt when he saw the two girls facing off. He was panting as well, the heat and his clothes-his traditional black pants and red Chinese shirt-had nothing to do with it. His shortness of breath had more to do with the fact that he feared for Akane's well being. If a real fight broke out between Shampoo and Akane, then he knew Akane would be done for. "Hey, guys, why don't ya just settle this nicely, like with a game of Go?" Both women shot him a look that said 'No way in Hell', shutting him up.

"You're just jealous, Shampoo. Your plan didn't work yesterday and you can't stand it. Ranma is mine!" Red was all Shampoo could see at that moment. Akane was right in more ways than one, and it drove the voluptuous girl mad. "You're mad because I won."

The next move was made by Shampoo. She said nothing and instead moved, much like a cat, and spun around to grab Ranma's collar. Her hands fisted in the silky material and tugged him toward her until they touched noses.

"We see about that, Akane..." She murmured before ripping the vile of Passion Spice hidden in her breasts from her cleavage.

She popped the cork from the top with a soft 'pop' before shoving it into Ranma's mouth. Stunned, Ranma had no choice but to cough and swallow what he could. Instead of being able to do so, though, he shoved away. Red dust flew from his nostrils and lips and his eyes began to water. He coughed up the spice and gagged until he could breathe right again. He spat, spluttered and heaved, Kasumi running to his aid with a glass of water to help him rinse out his mouth of whatever spice was left over. After he had calmed down, he stood. Shampoo stood victoriously before him, standing akimbo while Akane slowly took steps towards them.

"Airen, who you love?"

Deep blue irises turned upwards to her, a bit glazed. _This it! Ranma now belong to Shampoo! _

_This can't be it! He can't fall for Shampoo! Not now!_

"I love..." Ranma stood up straight and smiled warmly, his cheeks a bit pink from the coughing fit he had moments before, "Akane."

_**-Again, sorry for the long wait for an update!**_

_**RE-POST!**_

_**I went back and made a huge edit on this chapter, thanks to Bryan Neef. I realized that unlike my first two chapters, I muddled up the dialogue and found that it truly was confusing to decipher the 'she' in every paragraph.**_ _**So I went back and made an edit for all of that, and hopefully things are more clear and clean. Nothing about the plot has been changed, just a few spelling mistakes which I missed in the drafting process somehow and the few dialogue mishaps I overlooked.**_

_**I'm just gonna put it out there that I rushed to finish this chapter the first time around because it had been almost a year since I last updated. Next time will be sooner and I'll be sure to carefully read through every sentence before posting it on the site.**_

_**THANKS SO MUCH TO THE REVIEWERS! You guys really help me in making each chapter better than the last, and your encouragement to improve and keep writing really get my writing juices flowing. **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**-Ready for another update?! Good! But first: I do not own Ranma ½.**_

"_I love... Akane."_

The words were there. The voice, the crisp and clear name, and the bluntness in the statement were all present. Even with these working parts of the equation, Shampoo just could not figure it out.

_Akane? He love... Akane? _"You no understand, Airen. I Shampoo, not Akane." The violet buns on the crown of her head bobbed and quivered as she shook her head side-to-side. "Me Shampoo. Look at-"

"I said-" The deep voice cut through the sentence like butter and held the attention of all three women in the room, "I love Akane."

Akane was beside herself in the center of the dojo. She was far enough away to not be reached by Shampoo, but close enough to easily hear the painful gasp the Amazon girl took in at the declaration of Ranma's affection. The youngest Tendou daughter couldn't believe her own ears and for a second she thought maybe Ranma had actually confused the two of them in a Passion Spice stupor. But then again, the way he turned his gaze to Akane caused her rib cage to tighten and her heart to thump madly. He had a hunger in his eyes, buried beneath a tear streaked face and spice covered cheeks.___He's eating me alive with those eyes..._

"Cinnamon." Kasumi's warm and homely voice did nothing to shake Akane out of her trance. "It's cinnamon!" The eldest daughter sniffed the tip of her finger, which she had dipped in the spice that had spilled onto the floor, and tasted a small bit, "Cinnamon is a very hard spice to swallow, since it's a powder and dissolves quite slowly, and sometimes not at all."

Akane's attention was now on her sister, "So that's why Ranma had such a hard time swallowing it! No wonder he almost choked to death." The older woman nodded to her younger sister after she spoke with a light chuckle and stood, dusting off her hands on her apron before smiling to the boy beside her.

"NO!" The sudden shriek of Shampoo's voice caused a hurricane to blow through the room. "This last of Shampoo's Passion Spice!" She picked up the bottle she dropped and sniffed the residue, catching the musky scent of sweet cinnamon, "How this be? Unless..." _Great grandmother! She switch spice with cinnamon while Shampoo give her bottle! Why?!_ "This not happen. You love Shampoo, Airen!"

Ranma blinked, mentally noting that Shampoo would be taking this hard until he spelled it out for her, "No, I don't, Shampoo. I love Akane. I didn't eat any spices and I know who you are."

This only seemed to anger the Amazonian woman, her eyes narrowing into a scowl and her brow furrowing until she looked like an angry cat, "You no love someone who dead already! Airen can't love dead woman!" And with this last thread of resentment, Shampoo turned.

In a flash she was gone, leaping for Akane as if she was the only thing to see. The battle cry she gave was shrill, high-pitched and raw. It melted Akane's feet to the wooden floor of the dojo in fear, but froze her heart in a single beat. Never in the time she had known Shampoo had Akane seen her this far gone with rage. It never occurred to her that the purple-haired woman was aiming to seriously injure her.

Or kill her.

Fortunately for Akane, Ranma knew-or at least had a vague clue about Shampoo's intentions. He moved quick on his feet, even with cinnamon lodged in his mouth and throat, and before Shampoo could even breathe on Akane, he was between them. It was easy enough for him to catch her fist and feet and throw her back.

The Amazon woman landed on her feet gracefully before growling, "How dare you, Airen! You must love Shampoo, no other woman but Shampoo!"

"Leave, Shampoo..."

Shampoo could hear her love, but didn't want to believe he was actually speaking to her.

"... Or I will make you leave."

...

"Are you finished, yet, boy? You still need to mop the kitchen floor for tomorrow!" Cologne harassed Mousse in the doorway of the kitchen, watching him put up the last of the chairs atop the tables.

"Yeah, yeah, I-OU-QUACK!"

"What was that? You'd rather I cook you with some sake in a pot and serve you on tomorrows ramen?"

"Quack! Quack-quack!"

The old woman chuckled to herself as a now soaking wet duck ran around the shop flapping his wings. His glasses sat on the front of his flat beak as he ran, repeatedly, into the legs of tables. He really wasn't a hopeless boy, just blind. In fact, Cologne knew he was the smartest Amazonian male from her tribe, and the most capable of fighters within the males there. He was just as blind as a bat and love stoned as a bee to a rose.

"Quack quack QUACK! Qua-" In mid quack the duck silenced, his keen senses tuning him into a new presence in the shop.

He turned, along with Cologne to the doorway to see Shampoo. The usually energetic and eccentric girl was wilted and pale in the face. Her nose and eyes, however, were pink and swollen. She had been crying.

"Shampoo, what is it, girl?!" Soft tapping could be heard as the older of the two women hopped to the younger on her walking stick, "Did things not turn out as you had pla-"

"You know what happen Great Grandmother! You no want Shampoo to be happy. You just want to go back to village in China!" The tears had been absent when she first entered the shop, but were now running freely and hotly down her plump cheeks.

After she said her peace, Shampoo ran through the shop to the stairs, running up the case to her bedroom on the upper level. A loud slam could be heard, causing both Mousse and Cologne to shudder before looking to each other.

Mousse blinked up at the old hag as she pogo'd away to her own bedroom. The older woman was obviously confused an a bit taken back by her granddaughter's words, but Mousse held no remorse for her. If she just had taken away the damn bottle before Shampoo left, then nothing would have happened. Hell! If the old bat had just told her granddaughter to give up the cursed boy then they would still be in China and he would most likely be courting Shampoo right now! Doing her laundry, cooking and house work at this very moment instead of tending to a ramen shop he hated working at-FOR FREE!

_Quack quack quack... quack... QUACK! _

"Alright, that's better..." Mousse sat in the tub of the furoba in the upstairs of the shop. The hot water steamed as he sat against the wall, glasses in the changing room to keep from fogging up. He didn't need them at present. _This is for the best. _He blankly stared at the wall across from him, the white face a nice clean pallet to stare back at. _I want Shampoo to be happy, but I want her to be happy with me-not Ranma._ It was greedy, selfish, and nothing of what he made himself out to be. He loved Shampoo, an would do most anything to make her happy-besides letting her be with any other man than himself.

True, the Amazonian law was that those stronger came first in rank, and Ranma was definitely stronger than him. On the other hand, the three Amazonians were not in China an not within their village-so did the rules still apply? Mousse didn't think so.

_As long as Cologne doesn't ask about what happened, then everything will be okay._

...

The dojo at the Tendou household was silent and cleaned. Kasumi had tidied up both the dining room and the dojo and was currently out shopping for a new eating table. The sun was setting in the sky, mixing angry oranges, reds, pinks, yellows and happy royal blues. Akane and Ranma sat awkwardly in the latter's room, staring anywhere but at each other.

"I-"

"Do-"

Both held their tongue, hoping the other would pick up where they were cut-off, but neither opened their lips to continue.

"Go ahead..." Akane pushed, first to the punch.

_Damn..._ Ranma knew he had to speak first now, and he was not ready, to say the least. "I just wanted to say that..." He averted his eyes to the side, not wanting the girl before him to really see his face, "That... Do you think I'm stupid?"

It wasn't what she had been expecting, but Akane really had no clue what to expect in this situation. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, cuz you always call me stupid with stuff like this, Akane." He was looking at her now. "Ya know, whenever something like that happens-not that I ever said I loved ya before or anything, but... you know..."

He was blushing. She was blushing. The heat from their faces somehow reached across the couple feet between them and warmed their blood. Akane sniffed, Ranma gulped, and both met the other's gaze.

"I don't think you're stupid, Ranma." She wanted to ask the question she was planning on asking before, "Do you really... love me?"

Ranma took a second to look at the empty space before him, his mind running through every possible outcome of every answer he could give her. But nothing came to mind quite like the truth did.

"Are you gonna call me a pervert if I do?"

"Baka!"

...

A couple of days later the Nekohanten stood with a 'For Sale' sign hung in the window. Inside Cologne spoke with a potential buyer on the telephone.

"Mhmm. That's right. Living quarters above the shop with a bathroom. Two rooms and a brook closet. Yes. Everything works just fine."

Mousse sat at an empty table eating a bowl of house ramen. Shampoo was nowhere in sight. The last two days had been Hell for Cologne and Mousse. Shampoo had gone on a rampage and broke most everything she came across. She ruined almost everything in the kitchen and there were only two standing tables left from the one sided battle. Cologne had threatened to force the younger girl back to China, but when Shampoo said she'd rather do that and face the death sentence, Cologne decided that they could just make up a white lie. Mousse was going to fight Ranma within the next week and no matter the outcome Cologne would tell the village council that he had won. Shampoo didn't know of the plan and Mousse didn't, either, but Cologne had told both of them about going back to their home village.

That was what the for sale sign was for.

Mousse, however, was in dismay about the entire ordeal. Shampoo wouldn't even give him a pity look and the old bag of bones hadn't tossed a cold bucket of water on his head in two full days. _Ever since Shampoo came back from the Tendou's house nothing has been the same... _He looked up to see the shape of another table to his left, the rest of the shop empty and cleaned. He was given the task of cleaning out the broken tables and chairs and then the kitchen had to be cleaned after that. Cologne had, surprisingly, let him do nothing but eat on the second day, the current day... _But this just feels wrong._

Back at the Tendou dojo, Ranma, Akane, and Kasumi sat at their new table eating breakfast. Kasumi was happily humming as she chewed her rice and pickles while both Akane and Ranma sat side-by-side eating their own meals. Over the past two days the two had done nothing but spar and hang out, watching television and visiting the park. Honestly they both looked like a young couple in love, and if anyone knew better they'd KNOW they were in love. Kasumi was the one to inwardly sigh and giggle about the entire ordeal.

It was terribly cliche to do the things they did, like sit close and blush at the slightest contact of skin, but it was also painfully romantic. Nabiki would be home in three days time and her Father and Mr. Saotome would be home a few days after that. If things kept up between Ranma and Akane then she'd be making wedding plans in no time. It worried her a little, to think that the only reason Akane and Ranma could be happy would be if no one else was around.

"I'm going to go grocery shopping today, Kasumi, so you can relax at home. I know the plates need to be replace and I have a book I want to return to Dr. Tofu, so-"

"Oh!" Kasumi cut her younger sister off, "I can get the plates and groceries, no worries." She smiled and picked up her plate, then Akane's and then Ranma's, "I'll also return that book for you, since it's on the way." She then got up and busied herself with cleaning the used dishes in the sink within the kitchen.

"I wasn't finished with my rice and pickles yet..." Ranma sulked, the empty table at his front was a sad sight to see, "I'm still hungry, too."

Akane smiled, nodding, "I wasn't finished, either, don't worry. I think at every mention of Dr. Tofu now, Kasumi gets excited."

"Like how the Doc use to get with her? How can ya tell?"

Kasumi hurried through, a straw had on her head and her tote bag on her shoulder, "Don't get into trouble while I'm out, you two!" She said before leaving the house altogether.

Ranma blinked when Akane stood, "I can tell because she just said she'd return my book." Ranma shrugged, not getting the picture, "She didn't take it with her."

This caused Ranma to smile and chuckle at the older Tendou's actions, "I guess you're right!"

...

Akane and ranma had spent the morning sparring and then showering-individually-before realizing that Kasumi was not coming back for a while. They agreed that going out to eat would be nice, and that their stomachs honestly would not be picky about where.

But against Akane's will the pair ended up at Ukyo's grill.

"Ranma honey! Here's your okonomiyaki with a special sauce I made just for you!" The brown haired vixen set the large plate before her love and then turned to Akane, "And here's your order, Akane." Unlike the purple-haired suitor, Ukyo was courteous.

She may not have liked Akane, but at least she didn't try to kill her every second she got. _And at least her food is normal._ Akane thought before digging into her meal.

"Did you two see Shampoo's ramen shop is closing down?" Ukyo's voice floated by both Ranma and Akane, snapping them from their food to attention. "Yeah." The chef nodded, "I was buying some stuff from the market this morning and saw a 'for sale' sign in the window. I thought I was at the wrong shop, but then I saw Shampoo walk right out and then Mousse ran out after her." She snorted and added, "Of course he didn't get very far, but still... I just can't believe they're selling the place."

"Maybe they're just upgrading spaces?" Akane chimed in, looking to Ranma.

"I dun think so. The old bag is cheap and unless she threatened a seller into lowering their price, she won't move. I mean, she makes Mousse sleep in a broom closet instead of an actual room 'cause she's too cheap to buy a place with three bedrooms." This had both Akane and Ukyo nodding in sympathy. "I think this sounds fishy..."

_I think it sounds great. Finally, one less woman to fight for the affection of my love! My darling Ranma, I will finally be one step closer to having you for myself!_

"I can almost hear your thoughts, Ukyo." Ukyo snapped her eyes to Akane in surprise, then got back to work so Akane and Ranma could finish their meal.

At the Nekohanten, Cologne closed a deal on the shop that she thought was too good to be true.

_**-Yay! This chapter came much faster than the others, right?! It's only because I had an extra hour of nothing to do, so I felt like writing a boring chapter before the next one-which will be a lot more action packed than this one. **_

_**Thanks again for reviewing and even reading my story in the first place. I'm still debating on a lemon scene or not. I know exactly how I want to end this story and I know what I need to do to get there. I just don't know how many chapters it will take and if I'll do a lemon before then... Oh well. Review please?**_


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